Cockatoo Island
I took the ferry to Cockatoo Island this afternoon, partly as I haven’t been over there yet and partly to see the Biennale of Sydney exhibits. Cockatoo Island has previously been used for holding prisoners, shipbuilding, and as a reform school. After a century long gap, it is now home to bars, tourists, and glamping. Despite the fact that the island seems to be pretty busy at the moment, there were a few areas where I found myself further away from the other visitors, and with the cavernous warehouses and dark tunnels it almost has the feel of a ghost town. There is a lot of old infrastructure still on the island, mostly from the shipbuilding days, which I liked.
New Zealand, Day 10: The Ferry
Today was mostly spent travelling, which actually isn’t so bad. After eating breakfast while parked up in the queue to get on the ferry, we were directed up the ferry ramp and into a parking spot. Then we spent the next few hours eating second breakfast (we went full hobbit), having a nap, and watching the coast go past. When it was time to leave the ferry and we went back to the car, we discovered that the ramp we had parked on had been lifted to make a mezzanine level of parking. There is nothing weirder that sitting in the driving seat of a car as the floor slowly goes from flat to steep slope, especially when you are at the front and can only see empty space. It was straight through to Christchurch after this, so another chunk of driving ready for a full day tomorrow.
New Zealand, Day 9: Wellington
After failing to find any sort of walk in the National Park due to a complete lack of signs (it’s like they don’t want us to use the National Parks!), we decided to head on to Wellington, about 170 miles to the south. Then, it took far longer than it should have to book a campsite for the night, only to be told that we actually didn’t need to bother booking. And I discovered that city driving is the WORST!
New Zealand, Day 8: Waitomo
Ticking off the second of the three things on my New Zealand to-do list, today we went black water rafting in the Waitomo glowworm caves.
We arrived at the centre and managed to book a caving tour for an hour later, so spent the morning sitting in a sunny window, eating chip, drinking hot chocolate, and looking at the maps. Then it was time to suit up: sleeveless wetsuits (like dungarees made from neoprene), wetsuit jackets and boots, rubber boots that looked a bit like they should be in a milking parlour, and helmets with head torches.
New Zealand, Day 7: Rotorua and Taupo
After attempting to wash in the frigid lake this morning, the first stop was back to Wai-O-Tapu to see the Lady Knox Geyser erupt. The story goes that this geyser was discovered when workmen tried to wash their clothes in the warm water and the soap got into the geyser and reduced the surface tension, allowing the geyser to erupt and terrifying the men so much that they ran into the forest naked. It is now set off daily by the park by adding non toxic soap. Continue reading
New Zealand, Day 5: Coromandel Peninsula
We tried to get onto the dolphin cruise this morning, to use our free tour while we were actually in the country, but it was fully booked. This means that we moved our plans forwards by a few hours, and could fit in a trip to the Coromandel Peninsula. Continue reading
Tales from Australia 